Six Werkself players have made it into the seven positions in the rankings:
With the goalkeepers, Lukas Hradecky is in eighth position ('In contention'). After the operation on his jaw at the beginning of the pre-season, the 29-year-old Finland goalkeeper was sidelined for the first matches but then, according to kicker, he was "brilliantly consistent from matchday five and he made people in Leverkusen forget about his predecessor Bernd Leno."
No Werkself player made it into the top spots for the central defender positions with only Sven Bender allocated to the 'Potential' category by the kicker editors due to his "impressive performances" in his 17 appearances in all competitions in the first half of the season. Jonathan Tah, did not appear at all in this category after being included in the 'International class' in the summer and despite having the fourth most time on the pitch in the first half of the season (1,679; 19 games) behind Kai Havertz (1,943; 23), Wendell (1,813; 23) and Hradecky (1,800; 20). The professional journal tributes "too many careless mistakes" to the 22-year-old Germany international.
The Werkself captain Lars Bender finished the first half of the season in fourth place In the defensive midfield category ('In contention'). The explanation from kicker reads: "The Leverkusen player was in the international class in the summer rankings as a full back. He has played in this position in the first half of this campaign but more often in the number six role. Was a stabilising factor in an inconsistent Bayer team." In contrast, Charles Aránguiz – number one in the summer rankings – missed out because the journal's assessment of his nine appearances (seven in the Bundesliga, two in the Europa League) after being sidelined through injury was that he was "no longer as dominant."
Shooting star Kai Havertz was ranked second behind Marco Reus ('International class'). The Werkself number 29 "has reached a new level compared with last season." For Bayer 04, he is not just a regular first choice but now a key player according to the kicker with the addition:"Six goals and three assists in the Bundesliga and three goals and three assists in Europe demonstrate an improvement in terms of goal threat. The highly talented player can (almost) turn the game round on his own as in the 3-2 win in the opening game in the Europa League group stage away to Ludogorets. It's incredible how far Havertz has come for his age and the amount of vision and calm he possesses.“
While Kevin Volland - as in the summer - is once again included in the 'Potential' category for strikers despite his seven goals and six assists, the kicker assessment of Karim Bellarabi is more encouraging: "Great performances, impressive in all three competitions, defensive work has clearly improved." The 28-year-old German/Moroccan has hit back with eight goals and three assists "after collapsing in the pre-season, being sidelined with a cruciate injury and also suspended because of his bad foul in Munich," and he was named the third best player amongst wingers in the 'In contention' ranking– behind Gladbach's Thorgan Hazard and Dortmund's Jadon Sancho who both are named as 'International class'.
Bayer 04 are away to Croatian champions Dinamo Zagreb on Matchday 5 of the league phase of the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League. The game kicks off on Thursday 26 November at 18:45 CET at the Maksimir Stadium. All the information on ticket sales.
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It wasn’t just on the pitch that there was cause for celebration around the Werkself’s 2–1 home win against SC Freiburg. Plenty of happy faces could be seen near the dugouts at half-time too. Once again, CEO Fernando Carro, alongside former striker and club ambassador Stefan Kießling, paid tribute to eight supporters’ clubs celebrating up to their 30th anniversary on behalf of Bayer 04.
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He’s done it: Patrik Schick also found the back of the net in Bayer 04’s 2–1 win over SC Freiburg on Matchday six of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season – a club record! In what was a high-quality match from the word go, the Werkself were briefly rattled by the visitors’ opener from Derry Scherhant in the 14th minute but fought back with an equaliser from Ibrahim Maza just six minutes later. In the second half, the Black and Reds took control on their home turf and secured a well-earned win through record-holder Schick. In doing do, the Werkself inflicted the first defeat of the season on the club from the Black Forest.
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It was a match that will live long in the memory of everyone involved: The Bayer 04 U19s celebrated their seventh win in seven matches in the DFB Youth League preliminary round – and yet it was a very special victory indeed: in the 4–3 (1–1) win at VfL Bochum 1848, no fewer than five goals came in the final quarter of an hour. As the 90th minute approached, coach Patrick Greveraars’s side found themselves behind, but then fought back in true ‘Laterkusen’ style.
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Under Carles Martínez, the Werkself have so far proved unbeatable at the BayArena. The Spaniard has led his team to victory in all three of their most recent home matches – and, it's worth noting, without conceding a single goal. On Sunday, 18 October (kick-off: 15:30 CEST / live on DAZN and Werkself Radio), current league leaders SC Freiburg will make the trip to Leverkusen, but will be without their top scorer. What's more, the Werkself have won all three of their previous home matches against the Black Forest club. With a goal, Patrik Schick could not only secure a fourth consecutive victory but also set a memorable record. Meanwhile, on what will be the ‘Health Day' at the BayArena, much of the focus will be on physical wellbeing. Today's matchday news.
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